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BACKGROUND TO ENGLISH LITERATURE-I
Unit 1: I. Literary Forms
Poetry –
Ø Metrical Romance,
Ø Ballad [Folk, Literary, Mock],
Ø Lyric,
Ø Sonnet [ Petrarchan, Spenserian, Shakespearean]
Poetry
Poetry is the oldest form of literature
based on the interplay of words and rhythm. It often employs rhyme and meter (a
set of rules governing the number and arrangement of syllables in each line). A poem filled with imagination, emotion and
fancy. By combining rhythmic language with imagination, a poet conveys thoughts
and emotions.
There are two ways in which poetry can be
written namely – Subjective Poetry and Objective Poetry.
Subjective
Poetry is considered personal because the poet brings out his own feelings
and thoughts.
Objective Poetry is older than Subjective Poetry.
Objective Poetry is that in which the world outside the poet is expressed. The
communal ballad, the epic and the drama were the earliest forms of Objective
poetry.
Metrical romance is also known as romantic
poetry. It is a kind of poetry dealing with the emotions or phase of life and
the story is told in a simple, straightforward and realistic manner. It has a
happy ending whether love is involved or not.
The Norman first brought this Metrical
Romans into England in 12th century and that was popular in the high
renaissance. It was a form of prose poetry that was popular among royals and
the upper class.
In the French originals of these romances,
the lines were of definite length and meter whereas in England this metrical
system came in contact with the uneven lines, the strong accent and
alliteration of the native songs and the romances started being written in a
variety of meters- both alliterative and rhyming.
The old epic themes and native forms of
verse were now rejected and there was a demand for a new kind of story-poem and
rhyming measures which found its expression in the metrical romances of the
times which brought to the public wonderful tales of brave knights, fair ladies,
glorious adventures and courtly love.
Courtly love was a typical theme of
metrical romance as well. Metrical romance was typically written in the language
of Old French but was later reworked into German, and English.
These romantic narratives are all in stanzaic verse, which is of two types, quatrains of twelve-syllable lines in assonance, and quatrains of eight-syllable lines in assonance. The twelve-syllable line is much the more common of the two: it is the vehicle not only of the greater number of the metrical romances, but of most of the saint-legends, novenas, and other religious works.
The materials of medieval romances are
divided by scholars into three types of subjects: (a)The Matter of Britain
(especially stories centering on the court of King Arthur); (b)The Matter of
Rome (stories based on classical antiquity; (c)The Matter of France
(Charlemagne and his Knights).
Ballad is one of the oldest hymns in
English. Originally it was sung to the accompaniment of a harp or a fiddle by a
strolling singer or bands of singers. A ballad is a simple narrative poem that
tells a story, usually (but not always) in
four-line stanzas called quatrains. The word ‘ballad’ is derived
from the Latin ‘ballare’ which means ‘to dance’. This shows its connection with
tribal dance.
Ballads have a long history and are found
in many cultures. The story which is mentioned in the poem is usually a folk
story or a popular story derived from a tragic incident that has happened in
the society. The ballad began to appear in England in 13th century. The central
characteristics of the ballad are narrative presentation, simplicity and
spontaneity of expression.
Characteristics of a ballad
The following are some of the
characteristics of a ballad:
A ballad is dramatic, condensed, and
impersonal.
A ballad begins with a brief description
or introduction and tells the story without self-reference or the expression of
personal attitudes or feelings.
Formulas (repeated words, phrases,
sentences) are also used in the ballad to help the singer remember the course
of the song. Some of the examples are stock descriptive phrases, a refrain in
each stanza and incremental repetition, in which a line or stanza is repeated,
but with an addition that advances the story.
Like the traditional epic, the traditional
ballad has greatly influenced the form and style of literary ballad. The
literary ballad imitates the form, language, and spirit of the traditional
ballad.
The three types of ballads are –
(a) Folk ballad (The Traditional Ballad)
(b) Literary ballad (The Modern Ballad)
(c) Mock Ballad
Folk Ballad (The Traditional Ballad):
Folk
ballads originated from the folk culture of each nation. The ballad mostly deals with love and
adventure. The narrator generally begins with a climactic episode and tells the
story by means of action and dialogue. These ballads use refrains and
repetitions. Some famous folk ballads are “Sir Patrick Spens”, “The Wife of
Usher’s Well” and “Thomas, the Rhymer”.
Literary
Ballad (The Modern Ballad):
Literary ballad is generally written by a
learned poet in conscious and sophisticated imitation of the traditional
ballad. Literary ballad show an enlargement of description, psychological
interest and a more finished style. The most famous Literary ballads are “Rime
of the Ancient Mariner”, “We are Seven”, “The Tables Turned” and “La
Belle Dame Sans Merci”.
Mock
Ballad :
A minor form of literary ballad is the
mock ballad in which a comic theme is treated with the seriousness appropriate
to a regular ballad. It follows the ballad conventions in all respects except
in the choice of the theme. Cowper’s ‘John Gilpin’ is a fine example of
a mock ballad.
The lyric is the most delightful and
pleasing form of poetry. It is generally subjective. Lyric poetry, in its
original meaning, was poetry composed to be sung to the accompaniment of a
lyre. The lyre was a simple Greek musical instrument.
A lyric poem is a comparatively
short, non-narrative poem that expresses a single emotion in which a single
speaker presents a state of mind or an emotional state. His thoughts, feelings and emotions constitute
the subject matter of his lyric. The lyric becomes a mirror to his personality.
Some of the famous lyric poems are Wordsworth’s ‘Tintern Abbey’, Milton’s ‘On
his Blindness’.
Characteristics of Lyric Poetry
The following are the main characteristics of lyric poetry:
In lyric form of poetry, poets write short
poems which are generally expressed by one speaker, who articulates either his
or her state of mind or thought process of or emotions.
Formerly, the lyric poetry was sung to the
tune of a lyre. Lyric form of poetry is known for its intense emotional
content.
Through such poems, the poet lets out his
feelings such as happiness, grief and wonder and so on. However, such intense
emotions do not last for a long period of time and which primarily may explain
the fact that such poems are of a short length.
It is also known as an ‘untainted form of
poetry’.
Lyric poetry usually denotes a personal
expression, which means that the poet states his/her own feelings through it.
It is also categorized as a formal type of
poetry as it conveys to the reader the poet’s personal emotions or frame of
mind, usually vocalized in the first person.
Construction
of a Lyric Poem
A lyric poem is
generally constructed in three parts which have been briefly mentioned as
follows:
1. The first part of
the poem is the part in which the theme of the poem is introduced. After
analysing the first part, the reader is able to analyse and form an idea of
what he or she is going to witness in the preceding stanzas.
2. The second part
of the poem dwells deeper upon the theme of the poem which is introduced in the
first part. The poet enlarges the theme and gives the reader a better view of
the basis of the poem.
3. The third part of a lyric poem reveals the climax of the theme and the poet thus, draws his or idea to a conclusion.
Lyric poetry is marked with streaks of
spontaneity which forms one of its most important attributes. It is so because
in such form not much of an effort is required as it is an expression of his or
her inner feelings.
Types of Lyric poetry
Poets use many types of lyrics while
writing lyric poetry and a few of them have been mentioned as follows:
Elegy: An
elegy is a sorrowful, gloomy or forlorn poem or song which states sadness with
regard to something lost or someone dead. Initially, it used to be written
based on a structure, where six foot and five foot lines were used
alternatively. However, modern lyric poets do not follow such a pattern while
framing elegies, but the mood of the poem nevertheless remains unchanged.
Ode: A lyric
poem expressing intense feelings is called an ‘ode’. Feelings of the heart for
example; affection, admiration, or praise for a person or thing are expressed
in such form of poetry. Ode does not restrict itself to a structure or an
arrangement. Refrains or repeated lines are however, often used while framing
odes. This form of poetry is generally lengthy as compared to other forms of
lyrical poetry, and it is primarily focused on optimistic things in life.
Sonnet: A
sonnet is poem which is written in fourteen lines. This form of lyrical poetry
follows iambic pentameter with five pairs of accented and unaccented syllables.
A sonnet’s structure, having prearranged syllables and rhyme scheme, makes it
similar to a song.
Dramatic Monologue: A dramatic monologue comprises theatrical features; this means
that the poem depicts a single speaker communicating to the reader. Any other
character usually does not have any dialogues in such a monologue. It is the
speaker who forms an important part in dramatic monologue.
Occasional Poetry: Poetry written for particular events for example weddings,
anniversaries, birthdays, victories, and dedications is known as ‘occasional
poetry’. John Dryden’s Annus Mirabilis and Edmund Spencer’s Epithalamion written
are some examples of occasional poetry.
The sonnet form
is one of the most enduring literary forms of poetry in English. The sonnet
form was introduced by Sir Thomas Wyatt and Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey in the
sixteenth century in English. The word sonnet itself was introduced in English
language in 1557 as the title of Surrey’s poems. This is either directly borrowed
from Middle French sonnet or directly from Italian sonetto, literally ‘little song’.
The root word is also either the Old Provencal diminutive of son ‘song, sound,’
or Latin sonus ‘sound’.
The Sonnet was
originally a love poem which dealt with the lover’s sufferings and hopes. It
originated in Italy, that its name from the Italian ‘sonnetto’ which means ‘a
little song’ or sound sung to the strain of music. In England it became popular
in the Renaissance period, when Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of
Surrey translated and imitated the sonnets written by Petrarch (Petrarchan
sonnet).
The sonnet uses a single stanza of (usually) fourteen lines and an intricate rhyme pattern. Many poets wrote a series of sonnets linked by the same theme, so-called sonnet cycles (for instance Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Drayton, Barret-Browning, Meredith) which depict the various stages of a love relationship.
Three types of sonnets are –
(a) Petrarchan Sonnet
(b) Spenserian Sonnet
(c) Shakespearean Sonnet
Petrarchan Sonnet :
The first sonnet
is the Petrarchan, or Italian, sonnet. Named after one of the form's greatest
practitioners, the Italian poet Petrarch, the Petrarchan sonnet was the
earliest strict sonnet form (he lived from 1304 to 1374).
The traditional
Italian or Petrarchan sonnet is a fourteen-line poem with an octave and sestet.
The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two stanzas: the octave (the first eight
lines) followed by the answering sestet (the final six lines). The octave,
first eight lines normally ask questions and the sestet, the last six lines
answer them. At the end of the eighth line of the Petrarchan sonnet, there is a
‘volta’ or ‘turn’, a point in the sonnet where the idea or theme is turned on
its head. This will be like a question is answered (or introduced), or the
subject matter is further complicated.
In Petrarch, the volta usually separates the shift from an argument or question in the octave to a resolution in the sestet. The Petrarchan sonnet will almost always begin with that ABBA ABBA octave. However, the rhyme scheme of the sestet can change, but the most common rhyme schemes in Petrarch are CDE CDE or CDC DCD.
Shakespearean Sonnet :
William
Shakespeare is widely known in literary circles as the ‘famous playwright of
English literature’. He has thirty-seven plays to his credit; all of them with
varied themes and characters. In addition, he has also written three narrative
poems and 154 sonnets.
The Shakespearean
sonnet is divided into four stanzas. The first three are quatrains (four line
stanza) followed by a couplet (two line stanza). The form is often named after
Shakespeare, not because he was the first to write in this form but because he
became its most famous practitioner. It has the following rhyme scheme ‘ABAB,
CDCD, EFEF, GG’. The division of three quatrains and a final concluding couplet
offered him greater amount of variety with regard to rhyme and theme than is
usually found in its Italian predecessors. All his sonnets typically use iambic
pentameter, a ten syllable line where the first syllable is unstressed and the
second syllable is stressed.
Shakespeare uses
the three quatrains to develop an idea with three different images and finally
reach the conclusion in the couplet. The change in mood or theme mostly happens
in the beginning of the third quatrain with a final couplet concluding the
arguments. But most often, he waits till the couplet ends and usually summarizes
the theme of the poem or introduces a fresh look at the theme.
The Shakespearean
sonnet contains a volta. The volta can either come after the first eight lines
or at the beginning of the couplet.
Spenserian Sonnet :
Edmund Spenser is
an English poet. He is known for his epic poem The Faerie Queene which
is a celebration of the Tudor dynasty. He is known for his experiments in the
stanza form. The Spenserian sonnet has a similar structure to a Shakespearean
one, with three quatrains followed by a couplet. the Spenserian sonnets are
slightly different: ABAB, BCBC, CDCD, EE. So, the second rhyme of the first
quatrain is taken to be the first of the second quatrain. Again, it ends with a
couplet. The volta in Spenserian sonnet can either come after the first eight
lines or at the beginning of the couplet.
From the seventeenth century onwards the sonnet was also used for other topics than love, for instance for religious experience (by Donne and Milton), reflections on art (by Keats or Shelley) or even the war experience (by Brooke or Owen).
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